May 29, 2009

May wouldn't be the same without a trip (or two, or three) to the Montreal Botanical Gardens to walk amongst the blossoming trees in the arboretum. What a treat for the eyes and the nose. Alas, the show is over until next year.

Speaking of shows, I'm very excited to be going to Cavalia this evening, created by one of the founders of Montreal's own Cirque de Soleil.

May 27, 2009

On Monday night I attended the book launch for local writer Nairne Holtz's short story collection. I was commissioned to create the photograph for the front cover back in December. It was such a fun photoshoot! The book is now out in some bookstores in Canada and will be available in the US later this year.

May 22, 2009

On day 2 of the workshop, we photographed on location at a gorgeous hacienda. Everywhere you turned, there were gorgeous rooms and stunning light. This day we learned about shooting with directional natural light, as well as off-camera flash. Cliff taught us how to be efficient with the minimal amount of lighting equipment, which I appreciated as I'm not one for lugging around tons of lighting gear.

May 20, 2009

Last week I attended an absolutely amazing wedding photography workshop with Cliff Mautner. The only downside was that my head nearly exploded from everything I learned.

Because I'm slowly adding portrait and wedding photography to my business, I felt the need to learn some new skills that would be a good foundation going forward. Cliff is a master when it comes to seeing and capturing light. The first day we learned how to shoot in the harsh midday sun. As photographers, we love that soft and warm early morning and late afternoon/early evening sunlight; those two hours after sunrise and before sunset. But when shooting a wedding, you have to be able to shoot in that harsh sun and come back with what you're being paid for ... beautiful photographs. Cliff taught us that we didn't need to run for the cover of open shade. We just needed to know what the heck we were doing.